


Penumbra (Old Ch 1)

by moosesmittens, ratbat



Series: Weed 'Em and Reap [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bickering, Frisk's Pronouns are They/Them, Gen, Houseplant Flowey, Post-Game(s), Post-Pacifist Route, References to Depression, Weed 'Em and Reap AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 12:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16534841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosesmittens/pseuds/moosesmittens, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratbat/pseuds/ratbat
Summary: The first released chapter of Penumbra (circa February 1, 2016) before being edited.(Read the new ongoing storyhere.)((Tumblr.))





	Penumbra (Old Ch 1)

**Author's Note:**

> The old authors notes have been preserved here:
> 
> _Warnings:_ Swearing, passive-aggression, bickering...for now...
> 
> rrc - Friendly reminder that this is a reformatted RP!  
> Welp, Moose and I did it! Yay~
> 
>  _July 24, 2016 Update:_ So, we started publishing our fics in a different kind of format, one that allows for both perspectives. I will be updating chapter 1 to start, so just FYI. Also, I am restarting publication of this fic as soon as I have time. Moose and I are juggling Hero's Formula, which is looking to be massive, polishing off Moral Compass, some side fics, and the ongoing Fiddauthor Fest, which I am planning on writing both solo and collaborative fics for. This is alongside any irl stuff I'm dealing with and any other fics/otherwise creative projects I'm working on, so I ask that you please be very patient with these updates, they will likely be once a week to twice a month, or something along those lines. Furthermore, while this fic is also quite long and nearly complete, it is not finished being written, and we don't know when it will be finished. I just think you should all know what you're getting into lol.

Sans lays in bed, thinking about things he doesn't want to. His thoughts keep going back to earlier. Better than some places it wanders, he guesses.

He still doesn't feel like he's made up for being a careless ass. Not that it matters, of course--Frisk and Papyrus already have forgiven him, and Flowey likely never will. Plus, he doesn't give a flying fuck how Flowey feels about him, anyway.

He closes his eyes. But he still doesn't sleep.

He groans and rolls on his stomach, burying his face in his pillow. This clearly isn't working.

He sighs. An idea has been forming in his head for quite sometime now. A terrible idea. One that serves a purpose even he’s not entirely certain of.

He moans, cracking his joints and tossing himself out of bed. He slips on his slippers and jacket and creeps out of his room.

Papyrus’ door is open. Sans glimpses him sleeping soundly in the next room as he walks by. Finally. Sans smiles to himself as he makes his way down the hall.

Flowey had insisted Frisk keep him in their room for the night.

Sans decides he's done sneaking around and teleports casually into Frisk's room. He feels a little bad invading their space, but it won't be for long.

Flowey’s curled like a house cat on the cold soil. Frisk is sleeping soundly.

Sans grins, creeping up quietly behind the flowerpot on the nightstand.

"Hello, Buttercup."

Before Flowey can let out so much as a squeak, he snatches him up and teleports them both out of the room.

“FRISK HELP!” Flowey reacts slowly, bolting upright and almost twisting his own stem into a knot as he cries out.

“Trash bag!” He hisses, lunging at Sans with his teeth bared. 

Sans holds the flowerpot far away from his face, grinning.

"Easy there, dandelion, I'm not gonna hurt yah." He snickers. "Well, not yet anyway."

“Argh! Yoou! You just weren’t satisfied, were you? Frisk trusts you! I knew you’d come back! They’re an IDIOT for thinking you weren’t gonna try anything!” Flowey yells, twisting madly. 

He teeters to the side and thuds down with an ‘oof!’

“So… So now, what? You gonna do away with me, once and for all? Y-You gonna… kill me…?” His voice is strangely small now. The little flower begins to shake.

Sans has to admit, he almost feels bad for the plant.

"Whoa whoa whoa, _relax_ , parsnip, no one's killing anyone." _I won't if you won't, anyway, pal._

He sets Flowey down on the ground and sits cross-legged across from him. "I honestly just took us out here so we wouldn't wake Frisk and Pap up." 

He leans back a bit, rolling his shoulders. "Anyhow, I have a idea I wanna run by yah, you ready to stop _gravel-ling_  and hear me out?" 

Flowey peeks at him from behind his petals.

“What… What do you want?” 

Sans grins again. "You still sore about the whole dirt thing?"

The flower scowls. “What do you think? This Surface soil doesn’t even let me stand up properly!”

Sans' grin widens a little. "Well, do you wanna fix that?"

“Why are you looking at me like that, Smiley? Just tell me what you want!”

Sans starts rocking, his nerves eating at him. He's still not sure this is a good idea, and this is the perfect time turn back. Flowey would think it was weird, but he'd never have to know the whole truth about what Sans was planning. Honestly, Sans could do it himself, does he really _need_ Flowey to come along? 

All these thoughts toss around in his head, but before he can properly process a single one, he's speaking.

"How would you feel about going on a little adventure to get some underground dirt?"

Flowey recoils a little, now seemingly paying attention.

“W-What’s the catch?”

Sans shrugged. "There gotta be a catch?"

“With you there always is.” Flowey mutters.

Sans snorts. "Could say the same for you." He stifles a cringe. 

 _Dammit Sans, hold your tongue. You're trying to be_ nice. _.._  

"Look, I'm just trying to be nice." He shrugs again. "If you aren't up for that..."

"I want to go to the underground." Flowey says suddenly. "Take me to the underground. I want the soil. I don't care what you want from me."

Oh this is definitely a terrible idea. The way the little weed jumped at the chance...

But Sans has to do it now. It's too late to turn back.

"Alrighty then." He says, cracking his back one last time. He takes the flowerpot up in his hands and winks at Flowey. "Might wanna hold onto somethin' this time, pal."

And with that, they teleport...back into the house. The kitchen, to be precise.

Flowey opens his eyes.

"W-what? Why? You... You _tricked_  me!"

Sans snorts again. "Jesus, you sure freak out easily." He places Flowey down on the table. He grabs a piece of paper and a pen from the counter. "I'm just gonna grab some snacks and leave a note, k?"

He considers leaving Flowey here, but...no. He can't. He has to do this now.

 _Damn this place is a mess._  He tries to find a clean surface to put the paper down on.

 "Frisk and Papyrus, Flowey and I went on a little adventure during the night, and if you're reading this, we're not back yet! But everything's fine. Unless you're reading this like a month from the day we left. Then you should probably be looking for our ashes. Kidding! We'll be ok. But seriously, go looking for us before a month from now if we're gone that long, please. Thanks, Sans and Flowey."

He looks up at Flowey and grins. "Anything you wanna add to that?"

Flowey glares. 

"No. Just take me to the underground like you promised."

Sans shrugs. "Suit yourself."

 He continues scribbling. "P.S. Frisk, you're in charge. No offense Pap, but Frisk is the ambassador of the underground and all, and they can read you your bed time story. P.P.S. Flowey says he misses you two already and expects kisses when we get back."

Sans giggles as he sticks the note on a part of the fridge not covered in spaghetti sauce. He opens the fridge and grabs a couple of cold chocolate bars, a bottle of ketchup, and a very small metal box. He quietly tucks them all in his jacket pocket.

He swings the door shut maybe a bit too loud and snags Flowey off of the table. "Alright then, here we go!"

"Hmph." Flowey's expression is sour. "Did you bring anything for me? Or are you going to let me starve to death?"

Sans keeps grinning. "I dunno, what do flowers eat? Cauliflower? Sunflower seeds? Ketchup?" 

"Pack that leftover pie the Boss Monster made!"

Sans feels his socket twitch, but he lays the flower down on the counter and complies.

"Okidoki, artichokie~" He digs out the last piece from the fridge and wraps it up in a scrap of tinfoil sitting on the counter, probably left there by Frisk trying hopelessly to store the amount of spaghetti Pap and them had been making.

"Ok, can we go now? Before everyone wakes up?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the one that can teleport." Flowey chuckles, sticking his tongue out.

Sans shrugs. "Ok, but don't come crying to me if we leave without something you wanted. I'm not coming back for it."

And with that, he takes up the flowerpot and whisks them off to the underground. The sound of waterfalls crashing into pools echoes in the background as they materialize.

Flowey looks around, blinking. "Why did you bring us... here?"

Sans looks around. He's not 100% sure what he's doing here either. 

He shrugs. "I dunno, it was just...where we showed up...I guess..."

It feels like there's a reason. It feels like there's more than one reason. But...none he can put a finger on.

He refocuses on the task at hand. "Where did you have in mind exactly?"

Flowey looks around and shakes his head furiously.

“No! No! No no no! This isn’t right! This soil is no good at all! We’ve got to keep looking!”

Sans gives a small huff. He begins walking further into the caves.

"Alright, well in the future, you're gonna have to be more specific with what you want, bud." He shifts slightly to hold the rather large pot more comfortably. "And before we go where you had your little plant heart set on, I'm gonna make a stop."

Flowey scowls. “Well I don’t _know_ where we’re supposed to go. All I know is that you need to plant me into the ground so I can go find it.”

Sans is quiet for a moment. Then he bursts into a fit of laughter. "Good one, man. You had me going there for second. Really got my goat."

Flowey blinks. “It’s not funny.” He sighs. “Fine. You’re gonna have to look for the soil instead of me, if you won’t let me do it myself.” 

Sans shifts the pot in his arms again. Damn, Flowey sure is heavy for such a tiny weed. 

"Ok, that sounds like something I can do." He grins. "Well maybe. After all, I'm not a plant; dirt is dirt to me. You're gonna have to explain how the whole _soil_ -searching process works, pal."

“Get moving! I’ll know the right soil when I see it!” Flowey headbutts Sans urgently, clearly keen to get started.

Sans grumbles. "God, what's the rush?" He glances around a bit. He suddenly remembers how peaceful Waterfall is. The fact that it's less a cage and more a hideaway now makes it especially calming. "I haven't been here in a while, and I don't have any plans tomorrow."

 He's never thought of himself as sentimental before. Life's just full of surprises. 

“I thought you were going to help me. You can go and stare at rocks once we find the soil!” Flowey snaps. 

Sans grins. "Whatsamatter? This place givin' you the heebiejeebies or somethin'?"

“No! I just don’t like being held up by lazy skeletons!”

Sans snorts. "Hey, I didn't have to bring you out here." He shrugs, still grinning. "What's a few minutes gazing at some sparkly rocks between friends?"

Flowey pouts. “That sounds stupid.” 

Sans chuckles. "It'll be _fun_ , c'mon."

“You have a warped idea of fun …”

Sans tilts his head, glancing at the plant. "You can't tell me you never get homesick for this place, not after the fuss you put up about its dirt."

“It’s good soil, okay! The Surface is too dry and gritty. 

Sans shrugs. "C'mon, you can't tell me it's _all_  bad." His gaze shifts downward. He's quiet for a moment. "Frisk and Pap...Toriel...they all really _care_  about you. You know that, right?" His smile becomes soft. He gives a bitter laugh. "Not that it means much to you, now does it?"

Flowey averts his gaze, twisting his mouth. “I don’t deserve it.”

Sans scoffs. "You got that right, pal." _Join the fucking club._  

Flowey’s eyes narrow. “Glad we’re in agreement.”

Sans sighs. "Look, just don't make them pay for their kindness, alright? It doesn't really matter whether or not it's fair. Nothing's goddamn fair. Just don't screw this up, and at least you and I won't be having any problems, got it?"

“Hmph. Thanks, Trashbag. Duly noted. Now where the heck are you planning to take me?” Flowey grumbles.

Sans huffs. "Look, I just have to..." What exactly is he doing anyway? Even if he's going to go through with the other part of the plan that had been forming in his head....well, they're walking the wrong way. Did he really come to stare at the cave gems?

Sans gives his head a shake. "Look, lemme do this thing and then we'll go...get..."

A chill washes over him. He suddenly feels very light-headed. And then...

He feels the magic in his eye gathering. A strange feeling tugging at his soul.

He recognizes it.

He wordlessly picks up the pace, sprinting towards a corridor he was never planning on going down.

“HEY! WHERE ARE YOU- SLOW DOWN!” Flowey yelps.

Sans hears Flowey speaking, but it's incredibly distant. Everything is distant. His vision is sharp, but it's not focused on anything but it's task--finding it. It. Whatever "it" is. But he knows he must find it. He knows he's very close to doing so, too.

He's already tired of running, and is growing more and more restless because he's looking for  _something_ , but whatever it is isn't  _there_...not where he's looked...The sensation is growing though. He knows it's there. Somewhere. Gotta be there...

Sans vaguely realizes his eye is glowing, scanning the caves meticulously. He teleports across the halls, back and forth. But it's not there, why the fuck isn't it  _here_...  _where the fuck is it_...

“S-Sans….?” Flowey's voice is timid, frightened perhaps, but it barely registers above the noise in his skull. 

Sans mutters, cursing under his breath. His purpose has become very singular in nature, and so too have his emotions. It's as though he feels nothing except the sensation over-taking his soul. That and a mounting frustration at the fruitless of his efforts.

He teleports furiously from hall to hall, in a frenzied yet systematic search, bouncing from corridor to corridor, the feeling consuming him...

He snaps to an abrupt halt, his mind returned to him.

He's standing in front of an enormous grey door.

He stares at it. He's never seen it before.

But he recognizes it.


End file.
